A Rude Awakening
by ri.sparrow.black
Summary: All Ron Weasley was trying to do was pick his baby girl up from school for Easter Break. He definitely didn't expect to find her in bed with a MALFOY.


Rose opened the door of the sixth year Ravenclaw Boys room and crept in, shutting it softly behind her. She made her way to the bed at the far end of the room and, opening the trunk at the foot of the bed, grabbed a jersey and a pair of pajamas by wandlight. Extinguishing the light after checking that all the curtains were drawn closed around the four-posters, she changed swiftly, pulling off her jeans and blouse, tears already starting to make their way down her face. She kept the sobs down until she was inside the bed, and had silenced the curtains so no one else could hear.

She tossed the wand off to the side and threw herself on the sleeping boy. Even surprised awake, Scorpius Malfoy recognized her automatically, and an arm came up to wrap around her shoulders and pull her closer, as he pushed himself up so he was sitting.

"Ro…? What…?" She just shook her head and buried it even further in his chest. He fell silent and just held her as she cried her heart out. By the time she had finished, he had moved so he was leaning against the headboard and she was cradled in his lap, arms around his neck as he alternatingly stroked her back and hair. When she finally looked up, his expression was frantic, even as his hand rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"Ro _what happened_? _Please_!"

"It… nothing. I shouldn't have woken you up. Sorry. I'll just-" Scorpius grabbed her wrist before she could climb out of the bed.

"Oh no you don't Weasley. Don't be stupid. Get your arse back here and tell me what the hell happened to make you so damn upset. And don't you fucking _dare_ say _nothing_." Rose sat back down next to him, and brought her knees up to wrap her arms around them. She laid her head down on them, facing away from him.

"Ro…" His voice was softer now, pleading. Then it hit him like bludger to the chest. "_McLaggen_." He spat the word out, snarling. He knew he was right when her head snapped around to face him. On a sudden thought he summoned his wand with a wave of his hand. "_Lumos!_ Did he hurt you? Rose _what _did he _do_?" Rose could lie with the best of them, but for those who knew her best, her eyes always gave it away.

Rose mumbled, voice low and hoarse from tears. He only caught a few words, but they were enough to make him even more furious. "He… he wanted… I couldn't… said no… wouldn't listen… and… he dumped..."

"Ro I need you to tell me exactly what happened." His voice was calm, too calm.

Her face was angled down as she spoke, and he could only see the curve of her tearstained cheek, her eyeslashes a dark crescent moon against her luminescent face.

"We had a date. We met in the abandoned classroom in the upper Charms hall. We had dinner, and were fooling around a bit. He wanted to go further, all the way. And he got mad when I said no, kept saying no even when he tried his best to convince me. Called me a tease, and said it was my fault anyway, and so it was my responsibility to take care of his little… problem. That's when I called him an arsehole and slapped him. He said… he told me he's been cheating on me, and that that was my fault too, because I'm so cold. And that the only reason he ever asked me out was because of who I am. A Weasley." Rose looked up at the end of this, her eyes wide, hurt, and still shining and swollen with tears.

"I'm going to kill him." His face had settled into the Malfoy mask, and his voice was ice cold, his words spoken with deadly intent. It was Rose's turn to grab him when he tried to roll out of bed, knuckles white with his death grip on his wand.

"No! Scorpius, please, don't. I don't want to take this any further. Just leave it, _please_ just leave it."

"Rose." He looked at her as if she had gone crazy, accentuated by the rare use of her whole first name. "He _hurt_ you. He made you _cry_. I can't just let this go."

"Yes, you can. And you will. Because I want you to, and I'm asking this of you. Please, Scorpius." He groaned and collapsed onto his back throwing an arm over his face.

"Alright, _fine_!" He sounded tortured. "Only because you're asking, and you're more important that he is. But _one_ toe, the arse puts _one_ toe out of line, with me, with you, with anyone I remotely like, and deal's off. I'll destroy him. They'll never find his body, it'll be in so many pieces in so many places."

Rose just sighed and lay down next to him. "Just go to sleep Scor."

He shut his eyes. Five minutes later there was a loud grumble from beside him. They both ignored it, but half a minute later there was another.

"Scoooor…"

Scorpius huffed. "Fine. What do you want?"

"Mashed potatoes, chocolate chip cookies and pecan pie," came the prompt response.

"You're joking." But he was already climbing out of bed.

"Thanks Scor."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

The next morning, they were woken up by a loud shout. Rose groaned a snuggled deeper under the covers, pressing her face into Scorpius' broad back. Neither of them opened their eyes, though Scorpius did lift one hand long enough to lazily flip off the source of the noise.

Rose's lethargy disappeared quickly when she recognized the voice bellowing from the doorway.

"Rose Weasley! What the bloody _hell_ do you think you're doing? You! Boy! Malfoy! I'm going to kill you! How _dare_ you take advantage of my little girl?" Ron Weasley's face was redder than the infamous family hair, and he was attempting to reach the bed she was currently sitting in, even as her cousin tried to stop him. She looked to her side where her best friend was now pushing himself up from his prone position, his blonde hair sticking up all over the place, grey eyes still a bit sleepy, though brightening even as she watched. The dark bruise spreading across his left cheekbone had her forgetting everything else, including her furious father.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, what the _fuck_ did you do last night?"

Scorpius' eyes flicked from her, to her father, and back again. "Uh… Ro, I don't think now is really the best time. You want to assure your father I don't have any designs on your virtue, _before_ he gets around Lily and kills me?"

Rose threw up her hands. "Oh for merlin's sake!" She leaned over to the bottom of the bed where she'd thrown her wand last night and grabbed it. Lily, wisely, moved out from between her and her father, clearing the way for Rose to petrify her father. Which she did. "Now, _listen_ to me dad. There is _nothing_ going on between me and Scorpius. He's just my best mate. I crawled into bed here last night because I was a bit upset. We were just talking, and we fell asleep. It was accidental and completely platonic." No need to tell her father that this was something that occurred on a regular basis, or that she really had had no intention of returning to her bed last night. He wasn't ready for that yet. "Look, we're both completely dressed still."

She turned her glare from her father to Scorpius. "Now you!" She had gotten off the bed now and was standing with her arms crossed. "Explain!"

"Well, you see Ro, it was, well… I can explain, really I can…" Scorpius' face became more and more desperate as she stared at him, one eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry alright!"

"You went after him. After I told you, after I _asked_ you not to. You _promised_ Scor!"

"That _arsehole_," Scorpius' expression twisted, conveying his disgust and contempt, "does not deserve you protecting him. After what he did, what he said, he's lucky he's alive, let alone walking. And I didn't go after him Ro, I swear. I was going to the kitchens for your little midnight snack, and he was standing outside the common room. In my defense, he threw the first punch. And I didn't kill him, just because you asked me not to," he smiled at her charmingly before muttering , "though merlin knows why you'd bother," under his breath.

Rose ran a tired hand across her face. "What _exactly_ did you do to him?"

Scorpius smirked, very much the son and grandson of Death Eaters for a moment. He tapped a finger against his chin for a moment. " Well… I transfigured his arms into tentacles, changed his lower body into that of a slug, got rid of his hair for the considerable future, rotted his teeth and gums, gave him permanent bad breath… I think that's it…" He paused, considering his list so far.

"Wait!" He snapped his fingers, "Almost forgot the best part." Rose and Lily looked almost scared at the dark satisfaction on his face. And Rose Weasley and Lily Potter simply did not do _scared_. In fact, most of the time they were the ones doing the scar_ing_. "All of that is linked to a spell that reads sentiments. Unless the bastard changes his attitude towards women, all of my works going to stay active. That should keep him at least semi-honest, and if he's as big a bastard as I think he really is, I don't think we'll ever have to worry about a future generation of McLaggens running around." Scorpius smiled brightly, dimples winking, making him seem even more like the veritable angel he most definitely was _not_.

"What… how…?"

Scorpius looked at the speechless Rose pityingly. "Love, you're forgetting something." He pointed to himself with a mocking smile and spoke, enunciating his words, spacing them apart as if he was talking to somebody with a considerably lower IQ, and not the top of year student and daughter of the brightest witch of the age. "I'm a _Ravenclaw_ _Malfoy_."

Lily, who had been standing quietly off to the side so far, spoke up now. "I'm sure he had it coming, but merlin Malfoy, what the hell did McLaggen _do_?"

Scorpius' face darkened. "Doesn't matter. But believe me, he deserved it. In fact," he looked at the youngest, and most devious, progeny of the Weasley clan, considering, as a simply _brilliant _thought struck him, "I need to talk to you later. You won't regret it." Lily nodded, having some idea of the direction of his thought, not really surprised that he knew. Lily Potter wasn't her Uncle George's goddaughter and favorite niece for nothing. Though nobody ever suspected her, and even if they did, were quickly convinced otherwise by her deceptively quiet manner and general _goody-goody_ness. It was very advantageous sometimes to be so damn petite, with a heart shaped face and soulful chocolatey eyes. And with Louis, Fred, and Roxanne Weasley at the school, there were always plenty of others to take the fall, if only by default. She never actually framed anyone. She just didn't bother to step forward and accept credit for her work. And it was an unwritten rule in the family to not rat out other pranksters, so nobody had figured out that it wasn't one of the Weasley Hellions.

Rose looked suspiciously between them before shaking her head, obviously deciding it wasn't worth it. She shoved her hand though her hair absentmindedly, pushing the unruly mass out of her face. Scorpius launched himself off the bed in a rapid blur and was at her side in an instant, startling the two girls with the swift movement. Scorpius so rarely bothered with any sort of speed, ever, when he wasn't flying, that they always forgot how fast he actually was when he wanted to be. Rose swore when he reached out and grabbed her wrist gently. She knew what he had seen.

Gingerly, almost as if he was afraid of what he would find, Scorpius pushed the sleeve of his Quidditch jersey up Rose's arm. It was so large on her that the sleeves fell back to her elbows when she so much as bent her arms, as she had done when she had raked her hand through her hair. When he saw the livid bruises on her pale, slender forearm, his face whitened. He began to scan her, looking her over for any other visible injuries. Despite her prayers, he immediately caught sight of the hand shaped smudge at the curve of her neck, where it joined her shoulder. Merlin only knew how he'd missed it until now. His eyes, when he looked up at her, were burning. What she could see of the grey, beyond the wide pupils, was incandescent with fury, the rage brightening it to a liquid, molten silver, and his generous mouth was twisted in a silent snarl.

"_He hurt you._" The words were soft, nearly inaudible, though they held no less power for that.

Lily looked confused. From where she was standing, she could see neither Rose's arm, nor Scorpius' expression.

Rose was stunned. She'd never seen Scorpius this mad, _ever_. She understood now that she had never actually seen Scorpius _lose_ his temper. He'd get seethingly, furiously mad, yes, but he'd always held it under a rigid and iron-willed control, covering it with his Malfoy mask, and expressing his displeasure in a method that was all the more frightening for its detached, systematic and thorough pre-meditated execution. At the moment that legendary self-discipline was _gone_, shredded and frayed beyond redemption. There was no telling what this Scorpius was capable of, what he'd do. She suspected, feared, that there wasn't much he _wouldn't_ do. She didn't think he was really thinking, or cared, about repercussions just right now.

Rose had enough presence of mind to grab his arm before he'd made it more that a step. In this state of mind, there was no telling what'd be left of Steven if Scorpius made it to him.

"Help me!" She cried out, it clearly evident that her slight frame wasn't much deterrent to the six plus feet and 90 kilos of wiry, muscle currently making his way to the door, and presumably to wherever he had left her stupid sod of an ex last night, set on eradicating the moron, in as painful a manner as possible.

Rose nearly sagged in relief when she remembered the presence of the Head Auror in the room. Surely, no matter how livid her father was, he wouldn't let her best friend commit a murder and get himself sentenced to Azkaban. She looked around for her father, even as she pulled against Scorpius' arm with nearly her entire weight. She almost let go of him when she saw her father. Sometime between the beginning of the little scene between her and Scorpius and now, he had freed himself without any of them noticing, and was now leaning against the far post of Scorpius' bed, wand tapping against and open hand lazily, eyes narrowed on the drama, in the expression of the man who had beat a Transfiguration Master's chess set at the age of eleven. When her gaze landed on her, he sighed, looking resigned, and stepped in front of his daughter, and the son of his fiercest, and most hated, if not for Voldemort, rival.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do whatever it is you have in mind Malfoy."

Scorpius jerked to a stop, causing her to run into his back, though the impact didn't cause even the smallest stumble. He shook her off and stalked forward until he was nearly toe to toe with Ron Weasley, war hero and youngest Head Auror in history, one third of the infamous trio that brought the greatest and most feared, not to mention most destructive, Dark Lord of all time, down.

When he spoke, the words were in a low, deadly hiss. "Do you _know_ what that bastard you're keeping me from killing me did? Do you have _any_ fucking idea?"

Still calm, a vast difference from his expression just five minutes ago, Ron asked, "Why don't you tell me?"

Rose started to look a bit panicked, a fact that was lost on neither Lily nor Ron, both of whose eyes narrowed further. It'd be a complete and utter disaster if Lily heard the entire story. She'd waste absolutely no time in telling the rest of the family, and soon after, sheer downright hell would break out.

And her father. Rose shuddered. Ron Weasley took _overprotective father_ to a whole another _level_. She stepped forward again and wrapped a hand around Scorpius' elbow.

When he looked down at her, she shook her head silently, imploring. His implacable air crumbled in the face of her unspoken entreaty. He cursed at his inability to deny Rose Weasley anything. He pulled her away from the members of her family and _muffliato-_ed them. It was his turn to be entreating, as he held her by the shoulders and bent his head slightly so he could look into her upturned face.

"Ro, he _hurt_ you. You were crying. I haven't seen you cry since _first _year. And that wasn't until you shattered every goddamn bone in your hand. _He_ made you cry. You asked me to let that go, and not hunt him down and hurt him then, so I _did_. Then the bastard has the fucking _nerve_ to attack _me_ and accuse me of turning you against him, as if he didn't do that well enough on his own. _Then_, he _insults_ you. In _front_ of me, to my _face_, as if he had the right to even _think_ your _name_ let alone _speak_ it. I didn't even do anything too harmful to him, if you think about it. The only think that's been permanently hurt is his player status. And honestly, no one's going to miss that. And _now_, I find out he actually laid his goddamn bloody fucking hands _on_ you. He _marked_ you. Left _bruises_ on your _skin_." Scorpius spun away from her, and the eyes watching him over her shoulder. He covered his face with one hand, then dropped it, as he sank to his knees, trembling with helpless, impotent rage. Rose was left stunned once more. For as long as she had known Scorpius, he had _never_ lost his composure, even in front of her. Now, he was on his knees and shaking, with not only her, but Lily and _her father_ in the room.

She took a step toward him, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me." Ron's voice was soft, the look on his face split between understanding compassion and slightly bewildered disbelief, presumably because of the identity of the person for whom he was now feeling sympathy. Upon seeing the very clear look of skepticism on her face, he chuckled lightly.

"Trust me, Rosie. I know better than you what's going though his mind right now. Just give me some time alone with him. I promise I won't hurt your Malfoy." He paused at that and shook his head. "Never thought I'd ever say anything like that. Worst comes to worst, I'll just disarm him and tie him up, tops. Promise Rosie."

Rose looked at the shuddering, but still not broken or weak, figure behind her, but after a close inspection of her father's eyes, nodded reluctantly and made her way out of the room, towing Lily with her.

Even after the door closed behind them, Ron didn't move from his place. His mouth twisted wryly as he considered the events that had led to his current position, starting with his mother's sudden desire last night to have all of her family home for Easter. He'd been the unlucky one elected to come and collect the kids from Hogwarts for the day. He had headed to Gryffindor first, and found his son and niece already awake and down in the common room. After leaving Hugo with the job of waking up the rest of the family in his House, Ron had made his way with Lily to the Ravenclaw dorms. When she had come tripping back down the stairs from the girls room to blithely inform him that his baby girl had apparently not spent the night in her own dorm, but was probably in the Sixth years _boys_ dorm, he had been speechless, unable to form a coherent thought or word. He'd just followed Lily as she made her way up the other staircase. His heart had nearly stopped when he's seen his Rosie wound tightly around the boy in her sleep, the boy who Lily cheerfully told him was Scorpius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's only child. That was when he'd erupted.

He recalled ruefully how easily his daughter had gotten the drop on him, petrifying him before he could even think about drawing his wand from its wrist holster. He wasn't such a highly ranked Auror for nothing though, and no matter how quick, she _was_ still only sixteen. It hadn't taken much effort to break free of the spell holding him, though he had held his tongue, intrigued by the dynamics between his daughter and the young Malfoy. The boy was clearly in love with her, though his baby was just as clueless as the genetic combination of him and Hermione was bound to make her. Despite his feelings though, he had not taken advantage of her, and didn't seem like the type to do so. The fact that he was willing to kill to avenge his daughter didn't at all hurt. Neither did the fact that he had suppressed that murderous rage just because she had asked. Ron had seen Malfoy's eyes. There was no doubt that the boy had been utterly serious when he had stated his intentions to kill McLaggen.

Ron wasn't stupid. He had put the pieces together. He himself was barely resisting the urge to track down the little twerp that had hurt his daughter. But there was a boy here, now, who needed him more. And since Rosie obviously cared more about him than the slime ball, it was more important that he help Malfoy, instead of finding McLaggen and wrapping his hands around the kid's fat little neck.

This boy, this young man, was evidently nothing like the Malfoy he had known, and he tried to keep that in mind as he approached him. Not to mention Harry would kill him if he judged the kid by his father. As Hermione would without a doubt point out, after Sirius and Andromeda, he really ought to know better. And his daughter was a very good judge of character, though that judgment had seemingly failed in the case of McLaggen.

He padded soundless to the kid's side and crouched next to him. Malfoy didn't seem to notice him. The boy had his eyes closed tightly, and his hands were clenched in his lap. Ron knew exactly what he was feeling, the sensation of powerlessness, ineptitude and failure that came from not being able to _do_ anything.

"Ma-" the pause was barely noticeable, "Scorpius." Ron had spoken in a soft, gentle voice, doing his best not to alarm or spook the teen, but had obviously failed. Upon hearing his name in the unknown voice, Malfoy had leapt to feet, reminding Ron of a large, particularly startled cat, before his eyes even flew open, causing Ron to rock back on his heels and nearly fall on his arse in surprise. When he caught sight of who it was that had said his name, his grey eyes widened. He scanned the room in one swift glance. When his gaze returned to the Auror now rising to his feet, it was wary, watchful.

"I suppose you're about to 'warn' me to stay away from your daughter." The particular emphasis he put on the word _warn_ made clear his expectations the level of pain he expected to accompany that warning. Ron never had liked doing what was expected. So he grinned affably. Scorpius, if anything, looked even more guarded.

"Nope. I'm about to tell you it's not your fault, and that Rosie would be very upset if you hunted down McLaggen and did what you would dearly love to and clearly want to do to him. Not that that isn't completely understandable." Scorpius couldn't help but think that those who wrote Ronald Weasley off as a bumbling, useless fool did so at their own considerable peril. There was steel under that deceptively easy smile, deadly and razor sharp. Then he could only blink as the man's words hit him.

"Wait, what?"

The smile widened. "You heard me."

"Do you not realize who I am or something?" There was no way he had nothing to say about that. But he had known, and used his name, first and last. What the hell was going on?

"Does it matter? Are you going to turn to dark magic?"

"What? No."

"Hurt people for the fun of it?"

"No?"

"Live a worthless life blowing your inheritance?" The questions whipped out, quick and fast. Scorpius did his best to keep up, still bewildered.

"I hope not."

"Ever gonna hurt Rose on purpose?"

"No! Of course not, never!" The very thought of purposely doing something to harm Rose in anyway had bile rising in his throat. Ron's smile became even bigger, something Scorpius had not believed to be possible. It was satisfied now, full of knowledge, disconcerting him.

"Didn't think so. Right then," the look on Ron's face was very familiar to Scorpius, a pleasant, smiling force of nature, "listen very carefully to me Malfoy. Scorpius. There was nothing you could have done to prevent what happened, short of forbidding Rose to see McLaggen, and I already tried that. You did your best under the circumstances, and as someone who loves Rose, I've got to congratulate you on your creativity. As an Auror, I'll pretend I never heard that conversation.

"Now, about Rosie. I can see, I could see, how much you love her." Scorpius' eyes were wider than saucers, if not quite to dinner plate size, by this point. Ron just waved a hand to stop his sputtering and continued talking. "She cares for you very much." The smile disappeared, as if he didn't want to Scorpius to be at all confused of his seriousness when he next spoke. "Break her heart and you face the considerable wrath of the Weasley family, which includes the Minister of Magic, the Head Auror, the Head of the DMLE, the Head Healer at St. Mungo's, a prominent and respected reporter, the owner of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, two ex-Pro Quidditch players, and two triwizard champions. Rose's godparents are the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the Editor in Chief of the Quibbler. We'll make you _disappear_." Scorpius, instead of looking intimidated as Ron had intended, appeared to be contemplating his words thoughtfully, staring slightly over the older man's left shoulder.

When he looked back at Ron, there was a small smirk playing around his lips, and he seemed to have his temper and emotions back under control. "I don't suppose you'd consider enacting that… very frightening…" his voice was dry," threat against McLaggen, would you?" He looked a bit hopeful as he finished his query. Ron chuckled, amused by the boy's nerve.

"No, I'm afraid that threat is deserved for those who break our children's hearts. McLaggen isn't important enough to pull out the big guns." At Scorpius' slightly confused look, Ron explained, "Muggle phrase. Picked it up from Harry and Hermione. But anyway, McLaggen. I'm sure we can figure something out. Just let the Hellions and George know. That should take care of him. If that still isn't satisfying enough, give the Weasley women a ring. They can be terrifyingly sadistic"

"And once he's sufficiently recovered from whatever they cook up," they got identical, slightly dreamy, malicious smirks at the images Scorpius' words conjured, "or at least back to somewhat back to resembling human, I'm going to break his nose. I want to be a Healer, and I've been reading a lot recently." His smirk grew to truly Malfoy proportions. "If I handle _just right _he should be forced to heal naturally, with out any sort of magical aid or any anesthetic. Done properly, it should serve as a nice little reminder for the rest of his life."

"You know kid," Ron pondered as he swung an arm around Scorpius' shoulders and steered him towards the door, "I think we're going to get along _just_ fine, I really do."

Then, a couple of seconds later as they reached the door. "_Bloody_ goddamn buggering _hell_! Does this mean I have to play nice with Malfoy?"

-000O000-

Rose Weasley watched, stunned speechless, as _Scorpius_ _Malfoy_ made his way out of the Ravenclaw Common Room, Ron Weasley's arm slung companionably around his shoulder. The moron threw her a quick wink over his shoulder as he stepped out of the door. Rose turned to Lily, moving slowly, still looking dazed and bemused.

"Did that… did you see… what I _think_ I just saw?"

Lily looked smug. "I _told_ you it'd be fine. They're bonding over their mutual pigheaded protectiveness of you."

Rose's confused expression turned to one of abject horror. "Holy shit. I'm _doomed_."

A/N: Alright this isn't all that great, but there was this little plot bunny you know, and it was leaping around my head, knocking against things and generally making a nuisance of itself going, "Write me! Write me!" in a squeaky, high-pitched little voice. It was kind of hard to ignore. So I spat out what it was telling me onto a word processer in a half-hour. Like it, hate it, don't really care about it? Tell me. Use the pretty little review box.


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